YOU on the Camino de Santiago

WHEN PLANS CHANGE - FOR THE BETTER How many pilgrims were inspired to walk the Camino after seeing a movie set on the trail? For most people it was the movie The Way, with Emilio Estevez and Martin Sheen. For my guest today it was the charming (although largely inaccurate) Hallmark movie, Journey to You. Jeff is recently retired, and his discovery of the Camino after watching the movie Journey to You, led to an immediate plot twist in his newly implemented retirement plans. Jeff asked some excellent questions, so you are going to get some more information on using trekking poles on the Camino – how to get the most benefit from them, and how not to lose your poles. And I’ve got some pro tips for you on staying in Roncesvalles. IS 2026 YOUR YEAR TO WALK THE CAMINO?  Let's get started together. Join me on the trail: https://thecaminoexperience.com/walk-with-me/    #youonthecamino #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast

REDEFINING AGE ON THE CAMINO What is the Camino really all about? Many pilgrims say it’s all about the people, and my guest today is likely to agree with that. Cheryle walked the Camino with her friend, Janet, at the age of 81. Together they made friends all along the Way. Cheryle doesn’t consider herself a walker, but she did it, and when she wrote to me last week, she said this: I still have the love and glow of the beautiful walk I had on the Camino.”   IS 2026 YOUR YEAR TO WALK THE CAMINO?  Let's get started together. Join me on the trail: https://thecaminoexperience.com/walk-with-me/    #youonthecamino #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast

BEING A PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER THAN OURSELVES I love the perspective of the first-time pilgrim. There is so much excitement and anticipation. Eagerness and nervousness. And such great questions! We could talk forever about what it means to walk the Camino de Santiago and what it takes to get ready. My guest today is Jill from California who is just about to board a plane to go walk the Camino Francés. We had a wonderful conversation, spanning such topics as pilgrim meals, planning your stages, when to take rest days, women’s safety, and using ATMs to get cash. We also touched on the tender position of being one small person in a big world and how we can connect with others in a way that restores our hope and trust in humanity. Here is the book Jill mentions in this episode: The Way of the Heart, by Henri Noewen Join Jill in supporting the World Central Kitchen: https://donate.wck.org/fundraiser/6443097  HOW ARE YOUR 2025 GOALS COMING ALONG? I'd love to hear from you! You can write to me at nancy@thecaminoexperience.com  IS 2026 YOUR YEAR TO WALK THE CAMINO?  Let's get started together. Join me on the trail: https://thecaminoexperience.com/walk-with-me/    #youonthecamino #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast

THE UNIVERSALITY OF THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE What happens when you want to walk the Camino, but you have a physical limitation that could prevent you from doing it? Well, in the case of today’s guest, Richard, you just go do it anyway. Today's inspiring pilgrim conversation filled with spiritual insight, courage, and determination. Talking with Richard reminded me how much I take for granted, with all my senses working and my body as able as it can be one week away from turning 60. He also reminded me that there are gifts hidden in loss and trials, gifts that we can use to deepen our human experience and understand its universality. IS 2026 YOUR YEAR TO WALK THE CAMINO?  Let's get started together. Join me on the trail: https://thecaminoexperience.com/walk-with-me/    #youonthecamino #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast

THERE HAS TO BE A BETTER WAY Bringing the Camino experience home. Anyone tried that? It’s tricky, right? You spend all this time in the liminal space of the Camino – in this alternative world where strangers are kind, people are good, and making connections is easy and fun. You walk yourself into a stronger, braver version of yourself, and you discover you like that person. You dial into the simplicity of spending your day at the pace of walking, carrying only what you need, and listening to the messages from your body about what it needs and how to care for it. You laugh, you cry, you celebrate, and you grieve. And you do it all with a couple dozen people who have the same purpose as you: to walk day by day and eventually reach Santiago de Compostela, Fisterra, or Muxia. You do all that, and then you have to return home. It’s hard, isn’t it, to transition from the Camino back to everyday life? We do it, but many of us don’t like it. Many of us flounder, struggle, and suffer. There has to be a better way. Now there is! Check it out . . . JOIN THE LA TERRAZA COMMUNITY Take the next step of your pilgrimage here: https://thecaminoexperience.com/laterraza/  Registration is open from noon on August 19, through midnight August 23, 2025, Pacific time zone. Next registration period will be in late October/early November. GET THE FULL CHALLENGE Sign up here to get all the content of the Mining the Lessons of the Camino challenge: https://thecaminoexperience.com/challenge  #youonthecamino #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast

YOUR PILGRIMAGE ISN'T OVER When we walked the Camino, we discovered a few things. We discovered something called Camino magic – that experience of awe and wonder when we slowed down to the pace of walking, when we settled deeply into the present moment, and when we opened our hearts to strangers, ourselves, and something bigger than ourselves. We discovered the true meaning of the phrase, "the Camino provides." Curiously, the Camino didn’t always provide what we wanted, but if we looked closely enough, we could see that it provided what we needed. We discovered a new version of ourselves – one we liked and wanted to become better acquainted with. One we would like to hang out with on a regular basis. We discovered an inner strength and confidence, and we suspected it may have been there all along; we just didn’t know how to access it. We discovered the spirit of the Camino and wanted more of it. How do we keep all that alive? Here's how: JOIN THE LA TERRAZA COMMUNITY Take the next step of your pilgrimage here: https://thecaminoexperience.com/laterraza/  Registration is open from noon on August 19, through midnight August 23, 2025, Pacific time zone. Next registration period will be in late October/early November. GET THE FULL CHALLENGE Sign up here to get all the content of the Mining the Lessons of the Camino challenge: https://thecaminoexperience.com/challenge  #youonthecamino #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast

WHY SHARING YOUR CAMINO STORY IS SO IMPORTANT When we return home from the Camino, one of our greatest needs is simply to talk about the experience. We need to tell our stories. You can see this on social media and all over YouTube. So many stories! So many people feel compelled to recount what happened and where and with whom. Look at this, look at that! Our stories connect us to each other and inspire us to reach higher. In sharing about our Camino experiences, we come to understand them better, and we discover hidden treasures in the factual accounting of what happened, when, where, and how. Today I am going to share with you five reasons why telling our Camino stories is so important. And then I want to share with you some actual stories pilgrims have been sharing within La Terraza. Then, we will wrap up with the third audio session from our community challenge, mining the lessons of the Camino. GET THE FULL CHALLENGE Sign up here to get all the content of the Mining the Lessons of the Camino challenge: https://thecaminoexperience.com/challenge  #youonthecamino #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast

WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR AFTER THE CAMINO? For many people, walking the Camino totally lives up to the hype. Their experiences match what they see in all the YouTube videos and the movies like The Way. For others, not so much. But here’s the catch: no matter what experience you had on the Camino, you still had to re-enter life at home. In this episode, I am going to share with you a bit more of my after-the-Camino story as a way to show you what’s possible if you put as much attention on what happens after the Camino as you do to getting ready and walking. And then I am going to share with you the second part of our August challenge, mining the lessons of the Camino. The goal here is to give you a glimpse into our new pilgrim community, La Terraza, and to show you how we are meeting the seemingly insurmountable challenge of bringing home the Camino experience. You invested so much time and money in your pilgrimage, let’s make sure you reap the rewards of your efforts and investment. GET THE FULL CHALLENGE Sign up here to get all the content of the Mining the Lessons of the Camino challenge: https://thecaminoexperience.com/challenge  #youonthecamino #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast

THE CHALLENGE OF BRINGING THE CAMINO HOME If you have already walked one of the Camino routes, you may have discovered that coming home after the Camino is the hardest part of the entire Camino experience. I’ve been there, and not just once or twice. Every time I have come home from the Camino over the past 20 years, I have been faced with what seemed like a monumental, insurmountable challenge: adjusting to life off the Camino and somehow keeping the spirit of the Camino alive in my life. We have to talk about this. We focus so much attention on getting ready for the Camino, and then you spend your time on the trail deeply immersed in the experience. Now we have to attend to the after part. We have to gather some tools and resources for pilgrims returning home from the Camino, so we can round out the Camino experience. In this bonus episode and the next four, we are going to look at how to bring home the Camino experience. Specifically, we are going to explore what you have been up against since returning home. And then I am going to share with you some ideas for how to take on one of the biggest challenges pilgrims face when they come home: finding and understanding the lessons of the Camino. GET THE FULL CHALLENGE Sign up here to get all the content of the Mining the Lessons of the Camino challenge: https://thecaminoexperience.com/challenge  #youonthecamino #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast

PLOT TWIST!!! What do you do when your Camino experience is hit with a massive plot twist, and not the good kind? Who do you turn to when you are far away from home, immersed in a life-changing pilgrimage, and you are blindsided by a medical emergency? In this week’s episode you are going to hear from pilgrim Jodi, whose Camino derailed in the most spectacular fashion, again, not in a good way. But Jodi has found several ways to walk through the surprises and the disappointment that came with them, and today you get to hear her story. JOIN THE LA TERRAZA CHALLENGE! Starting on Wednesday, August 13, 2025, everyone is welcome to join our challenge, Mining the Lessons of the Camino, and get a preview of our new pilgrim community, La Terraza. Sign up here to get the bonus content not shared on the podcast: http://thecaminoexperience.com/challenge  JOIN ME ON THE CAMINO IN 2026 Registration is now open for both of my 2026 Camino Experience groups. Here are the dates we will be together on the trail from Saint Jean Pied de Port to Pamplona: May 8-15 September 11-18 Get the whole story at https://thecaminoexperience.com/walk-with-me/    #youonthecamino #caminodesantiago #firsttimepilgrim #thecaminoexperience #caminopodcast